Since the Virginia Tech shootings, campuses nationwide have been on alert for anything reminiscent of the tragedy. A number of campus papers are reporting incidents highlighting the tension between students’ rights and students’ health and safety. A University of Iowa student was searched and detained on his way to his car after class because he looked suspicious wearing a ski mask. The student was subsequently banned from campus for the next five months, though administrators would not disclose the reason for the ban—which has since been lifted. At the University of Rhode Island, a student painting of a hooded figure was removed from an art display because some felt the figure echoed the Virginia Teach shootings. An article from the Daily Targum of Rutgers University reports that many colleges are instituting a background check into college admissions procedures. Though no such plan is underway at Rutgers, an administrator’s initial response focused on the balance between safety and civil liberties.

4/27/07  Read More from Rutgers University
4/27/07  Read More from the University of Rhode Island
4/27/07  Read More from the University of Iowa